» Kathy McCabe

Published on Wednesday, December 5, 2018 by Kathy McCabe
Nothing says Christmas in Italy quite like a pile of struffoli on an Italian table. The marble-sized dough balls are deep-fried to a golden hue, coated in honey and tiny hard sprinkles. While the traditional recipe calls for deep-frying the balls, some modern recipes call for spreading the struffoli on a cookie sheet and baking them in the oven.
The origins of ...

Published on Saturday, December 1, 2018 by Kathy McCabe
Beginning December 18th, travelers will be able to take high-speed Frecciarossa trains straight from Rome’s airport to destinations across Italy. The Frecciarossa trains will connect Fiumicino Airport with Florence, Venice, Pisa, La Spezia and Genoa. Currently, travelers have to go into Rome’s city center to pick up a train to these cities at either the Termini or...

Published on Wednesday, November 28, 2018 by Kathy McCabe
Construction work completed in 2001 is having an unexpected effect on the Leaning Tower of Pisa: Since then, its tilt has lessened by 1.5 inches.
The tower was closed to visitors from 1990 to 2001 while construction work was done to correct the tilt and protect its long-term stability. When it reopened, it had straightened by 15.95 inches, returning its slant to th...

Published on Friday, November 23, 2018 by Kathy McCabe
Editors at Italy’s Zanichelli Publishing House launched a campaign to revive Italian words that have fallen out of use, by painting graffiti with the words and their definitions onto city streets. The campaign, marked with the hashtag #laculturasifastrada on social media, aims to bring attention to the complexity of the Italian language, which has become more simpli...

Published on Friday, November 16, 2018 by Kathy McCabe
Mark your calendar for Cyber Monday!
Perillo's Learning Journeys has an incredible special for Valentine's Day Live Like a Local in Sorrento: Land and Air, February 10 to 17, 2019. There is limited availability for this 8-day/6-night adventure. The Amalfi Coast is one of those places that alluringly draws one into its charm and romance. It doesn't get more romant...

Published on Thursday, November 15, 2018 by Kathy McCabe
Save $500 Per Couple On Any Italy or Hawaii Tour*
Your calendar is surely marked for Black Friday this year. But the big savings is at Perillo Tours.
On Black Friday only, Perillo Tours, a leader in escorted travel to Italy for more than 70 years, is offering $500 off per couple ($250 per person) on all 2019 Italy and Hawaii escorted tours. You must use code: Bl...

Published on Saturday, November 10, 2018 by Kathy McCabe
History tells us that the city of Pompeii was destroyed when Mount Vesuvius erupted on August 22, 79 AD – or was it two months later?
Experts now believe that could be the case, as an inscription written in charcoal on the wall of a newly excavated home in Pompeii may indicate that Vesuvius erupted on October 17, 79. According to historians, the inscription, whic...

Published on Tuesday, November 6, 2018 by Kathy McCabe
This month, Turismo Culturale Italiano is inviting visitors into 73 of palaces in Rome for guided tours during its sixth annual Porte Aperte event. Many of these residential palaces, built between the Renaissance and the 20th century, are privately owned and not usually open to the public, so this is an exclusive chance to visit these elegant and historic buildings...

Published on Saturday, November 3, 2018 by Kathy McCabe
Travelers flying to Milan next summer will need to plan ahead or take an alternate route, as Milan’s Linate Airport will be closed from July 27 to October 27, 2019 for renovations, including repaving the runway. The fifth-busiest airport in Italy, Linate sees more than 9 million passengers annually.
Instead, passengers can fly through Milan Malpensa Airport, whic...

Published on Tuesday, October 30, 2018 by Kathy McCabe
Halloween in Italy has grown more popular over the past 10 years or so, especially with children excited to dress up and eat sweets. While Halloween still isn’t as big of a celebration as it is in the U.S., it is now not uncommon to hear children walking through shops and neighborhoods saying Dolcetto o scherzetto? (Trick or treat?).
Refreshingly, Halloween in It...